Petty theft is something that a lot of people do and somehow think it's a strike against "the man" or big corporations or something, but it doesn't really work that way. If you steal from a Wal-Mart, the people who will feel it most acutely are the lowest-level employees and the community who shops there. Where is…

My mom would always buy me very girly things in a not-so-subtle effort to convince me that I was gross and lazy and also weird. We'd fight about my clothes constantly when I was in high school, because I basically lived in clothes that were men's stuff about 6 sizes too big and gothy jewelry. My argument was that I…

I really want to like her work, but I could never get over that awful fetishizing-of-trans-men comic. I know she's apologized repeatedly, and I really do think she meant it and she's changed her tune, but it sort of permanently turned me off of her work. It was one of the first times I had ever felt objectified, and…

I don't know how to tell the difference!

I used to volunteer for a rape and abuse crisis line, and I was raped a few years ago.

Honestly, I never really minded farters until I worked next to a guy in the lab (so we had computers about 8 inches from each other) who literally farted about once every few minutes. It was overwhelming and I couldn't take it. A fart a few times a day? Whatever, I get that you need to be here, doing your things,…

They just go, "Yeah, that sounds great, whatever," because really, when someone pitches a really racist idea at you, what are the chances that you're going to change their minds?

liek if u cry evry time ~*@<3@*~

The workaround is the only thing I accept most of the time. I have gender issues, and avoiding acknowledging it is really the best for me and everyone involved. I usually ask people to avoid dirty talking, or we can have a conversation about what I like and what I don't (and of course, what they like and dislike,…

I did the same thing! I was probably about 14, and I ordered some things I didn't know what they were, because I wanted to try new stuff. I got the "chirashi bowl" (haha, I can't believe I still remember that) because it had the most rolls at the lowest price.

We really should make fun of lutefisk. I grew up eating that stuff, and there is little good about what it is or what it does.

I took #CrimingWhileWhite to be for the nay-saying white audience, actually. People saying, "Well, I'm white, and I've been in trouble! It can't be a racial thing!". These people already are dismissing what black people are saying about their own experiences, and so white allies are attempting to fill in the space…

Oh, exactly! That one friend from the culture is always a super-expert, with no biases or mistakes or anything. I mean, I answer people's questions about Americans, but I tell them there are always regional differences, and this is just what I think. It should be taken with a grain of salt, because I'm no expert.

I agree. I think it's a little odd to plan such a big life event that is supposed to bring together two people and two families without knowing who the other person and family is in the equation. They might also have an idea of what they would want in a wedding, too!

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I feel like a lot of the comments on this post are missing the mark - this is the kind of thing that could happen in a bunch of places, not just in the Czech Republic. I feel like there's a tendency to "other" these kinds of things, so that we can prove to ourselves that…

I'm kind of disappointed to see people blaming this on "Eastern European" culture, as if these things don't happen all over the world. Beauty pageants, including "talent" shows, are common all across the US, Europe, Asia, and other places. It's kind of like how whenever there's an article about something strange in…

The Czech Republic isn't Eastern European, and there are a number of feminist clubs, actually.

Nope, I completely agree. My parents' divorce, while undoubtedly difficult for them, was not that hard on me. I could see they were unhappy, and it seemed logical that they would divorce. I was nine at the time, and it was just, "okay, let's just adapt here. I have weekends with Dad now."

Thank you for all the advice! I really appreciate it. As of now, it doesn't trouble me in the least, but I know that it could change in the future. I'm very lucky in that if I do have EDS, it barely has an effect on my current life. My sister, on the other hand, is obviously not so lucky.